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South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) supports the efforts of Government in building a Defence Force South Africa can be proud of! The South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) welcomed the remarks made by His Excellency, President JG Zuma on National Reconciliation Day, 16 December, at the Amphitheatre,Freedom Park, Salvokop, Tshwane. For the past 15 years of democratic rule in South Africa, our complaints have been around the conditions in the defence that are affecting the morale of active members of the military and that of military veterans. These are the issues that we have raised since integration and have never been heeded to in the previous administrations. The President said “this year’s National Reconciliation Day is dedicated to the forgotten heroes and heroines of this country’s liberation, our military veterans.” He made mention of their sacrifices and how many now lived “in abject poverty in a country they sacrificed so much for.” “Informed by the knowledge of the hardships facing our military veterans, we deliberately expanded the Defence portfolio to include a Military Veterans department in the new Cabinet. The President made pronouncements on the establishment of a department of military veterans and this is a milestone. Most of the military veterans especially those from the Non-Statutory Forces die before they can experience benefits of the pronouncements by the Patron-in-Chief of military veterans in South Africa. The plight of military veterans will be addressed by the new department that is soon to be formally established within the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. The policy document has already been developed by the Ministerial Task Team on the Establishment of the Department of Military Veterans and is soon to be tabled in the next cabinet for adoption and approval. This task team has taken heed of the constitution and the will of government that military veterans are all recognised and will be treated equally. We want to accept the President and the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans pronouncements on the salary increases and the commitments she made in her defence budget speech and the way in which she handled military issues since assuming office. It is unfortunate that she was never given a chance for proper handover in order to be able to address fully issues affecting active members of the military and those of military veterans. Indeed she has proved herself a capable leader and it was not strike pressure that forced her to review the salaries of active members of the defence as she has already made commitments on improving conditions that affect the morale of soldiers. With the recent improvements of conditions we are building a Defence Force that will bring back pride and attract many young men and women to the calling of this nature; and above all, a Defence Force whose morale and discipline will inspire all South Africans. As Military Veterans, ex soldiers, we understand how important this is going to be to South Africa. A strong national defence force is an asset to any country! SANMVA thus fully supports the President, our Patron, and the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans in this endeavour – we can be called upon at any time to give our encouragement to the youth of our country in the defence thereof. This is an honourable career that really supports and assists the community at large. SANMVA looks forward to welcoming these new soldiers into the ranks of Military Veterans when they have served their country with pride and honour. SANMVA has established a committee in order to recognise the role that our Past President, Nelson Mandela, played in the liberation struggle and bringing armed conflict to an end in South Africa and in many other countries. As Military Veterans, we are more aware of what could have happened in our country and to us as soldiers. Our soldiers are involved in peace keeping operations in Africa and SANMVA wishes to also play a role in establishing peace on our continent. SANMVA will encourage the whole of Africa to participate in laying down their arms for a few days to recognise Africa’s greatest statesman, Nelson Mandela, a true tribute to him and hopefully make all statesmen think twice about reverting to armed conflict in future! We further call on the South African Football Association and the Local Organizing Committee to utilize the military veterans that are at their disposal. It is not only active servicemen that can be used by our nation, hence we will raise the issue to say we must learn from experiences of other nations in utilizing the skills that have been invested in military veterans and not throw them into nothingness when they are a huge investment of the nation. We are willing to meet and engage SAFA and the LOC regarding how we can assist and play a role as military veterans in bringing the best world cup to the world. We further wish all military veterans and the people of South Africa the best during this holiday season and further state that they must drive safely. For more information contact: Kebby E. R. Maphatsoe President, South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) Cell: 073 723 8333 [email protected] Issued by: South African National Military Veterans Association (SANMVA) -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . |
